


where i am (i like it here now)

by thiyatrack (thxyx)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Confessions, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Self-Indulgent, mentions of jen jaem and renjun, mentions of nomin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 17:22:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19114285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thxyx/pseuds/thiyatrack
Summary: Mark used to hate that his bedroom was on the ground floor.[ based on the dialog prompt: "Can you please stop coming in through the windows? You keep scaring the hell outta me." ]





	where i am (i like it here now)

Mark used to hate that his bedroom was on the ground floor.

 

He used to hate that Johnny exerted his supreme older sibling power to snag the more spacious bedroom on the first floor, while he got stuck with the smaller room with the shittier lighting and no attached bathroom, which meant any time he had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night was treated like a potential horror movie waiting to happen, with a quick flick of the light once he was done, followed by padded feet rushing down the corridor as though they were being chased.

 

And of course, he started hating it even more once Lee Donghyuck moved in next door.

 

Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t hate _Donghyuck._ Of course he doesn’t. Quite the opposite, in fact. Mark thinks he might have a bit of a crush on him. Just a little one.

 

It’s just that he likes his sleep better than he likes Donghyuck, and it does not help that Donghyuck, who is nocturnal, proclaimed himself as Mark’s best friend within a short span of one summer at football camp and now, three years later, still continues to steal bits and pieces of Mark’s sleeping hours in the most annoying way possible.

 

“Can you please stop coming in through the window? You keep scaring the hell outta me,” grumbles Mark as he opens his window after three small stones strike it in quick succession.

 

“You really should be used to it by now.” Donghyuck climbs in, a lazy grin on his face. “I recorded a new one.” He walks over to Mark’s bed and flops onto it as though he owns it, the exact same way he does at least three nights a week now. The frequency of night visits has increased in the last few months, but Mark can’t really find it in himself to complain.

 

Donghyuck pats the space next to him, and Mark obliges, abandoning his paper at four hundred and seven words, even though he should be concentrating on the next six hundred, since the physics paper is due tomorrow.

 

But Mark isn’t nicknamed The Master Procrastinator for nothing. He makes a mental note to finish it in the morning, else he’ll just apologize for not finishing it, since he knows Yukhei wouldn’t have finished it either.

 

He lets Donghyuck stick an earphone into his ear as he settles into his pillows. Once he’s sufficiently comfortable, shoulder pressed against Donghyuck’s and looking at the younger with expentent eyes, the music begins to play.

 

Donghyuck has been into recording sad, mournful ballads the last few weeks, so that’s what Mark initially expects, so he’s surprised when a lighter tune begins waltzing through his ears, and Donghyuck’s silken smooth voice begins singing about first loves and locked gazes and words that are difficult to say and the feeling that his heart might just burst out of his chest.

 

It feels so deeply personal that Mark doesn’t even need to ask if Renjun helped him write it, because the song has no Renjun tones at all. It’s purely Donghyuck.

 

And it makes Mark feel ten million different things, but mostly the feeling of his heart migrating to his throat and cutting off his breathing, because there’s one thing that’s obvious, and that’s that Donghyuck has a _crush._

 

And once he’s realized that, Mark feels like he’s really going to be sick. His mind takes the obvious route, spiralling and wondering if he’s going to end up as the supportive best friend trope, condemned to the cruel fate of helping Donghyuck get together with whichever girl he likes and then proceeding to watch from the sidelines until he grows old with the regret heavy in his heart, probably with ten different cats, and the only person left to visit him will be Jeno, and while he would insist that he was there to see Mark, they would both know that he was only there for the cats.

 

“What did you think?” Donghyuck asks tentatively, after giving a sufficient pause at the end of the song for Mark to collect his thoughts.

 

“It’s…” Mark’s words stick in his throat, and he swallows with difficulty. Donghyuck has raised his head, supporting himself on his forearm, the dark circles under his darker eyes close enough for Mark to trace with his fingers. His eyes are intense and earnest, searching for hints of approval or its opposite on Mark’s face. “It’s different in comparison to your previous few songs. I can’t say I like it better than ‘No Longer’, because that’s a masterpiece and a half, but I do like it better than ‘Heartbreaker’.”

 

A small crease mars Donghyuck’s forehead for a split second, and Mark jumps to clarify. “A good kind of different. A very good kind of different. It sounds very _you,_ you know? And I love the adlibs. The bridge is my favorite. And so I really need to say anything about your vocals? Killed it, like always. That high note? I hate that you’re this talented.”

 

Mark pauses his rambling as Donghyuck’s face relaxes into a soft smile, and Mark’s heart beats a little faster in his chest. Perhaps he was a little too honest, but Mark likes appreciating Donghyuck, because even from an objective point of view, the boy really deserves it. “Aw, you like my music,” coos Donghyuck teasingly. “You think I can sing.”

 

“I mean, it’s passable,” jokes Mark, huffing out a laugh as Donghyuck hits his chest. “You’re no Kim Jongdae, but you’ve got potential.” Then he’s reminded again, and the tightness comes back into his chest. “Is it about someone?”

 

Donghyuck’s smile widens a little bit, and the light from the lamp on Mark’s bedside is reflected in his eye like some kind of evil glint. “Yeah, it is.”

 

Mark presses his lips together. He could guess that. Anyone could guess that from the emotion that rang in every note and every word of the song. Mark doesn’t really want to know who. But he does want to know. He should know, because now that he’s Donghyuck’s best friend, he should know who the boy is going to give his heart to, to make sure he’s making a good decision. Or at least, that’s what he convinces himself is his motivation when he finally asks, “Who?”

 

Donghyuck ducks his head bashfully. “Nana…”

 

Mark’s first thought is, _well, at least Jeno and I can be heartbroken together,_ because he knows Jeno has been in love with Jaemin for longer than he’s known what love is. It would suck worse for him, but at least Mark will have company. And it kind of made sense. Both Jaemin and Donghyuck were the same kind of insufferable yet endearing kind of people. Looks like like poles don’t repel after all. Mark loses all faith in physics at that moment.

 

“...told me that you like me.”

 

Mark takes a couple seconds to process that, then very intelligently says, “What?!”

 

“Nana told me that _you_ like _me_ ,” repeats Donghyuck, making eye contact once again with Mark, except this time his eyes are scrunched in mirth, a laugh threatening to bubble out of his mouth. “Psych, bitch, you really thought I liked _Nana?_ Didn’t think you’d fall for that but your eyes deadass turned into these tunnels and I could legit hear your thoughts.” He slaps Mark’s chest, laughing softly so that no one else outside can hear them, giggles rich with teasing and fondness.

 

Mark makes a noise of disbelief. Na Jaemin, what a _snake._ And Donghyuck is really no better. What has Mark gotten himself into? “So it’s about me?” he splutters, once it finally sinks in.

 

“No, it’s about Renjun,” snarks Donghyuck, before the sarcasm melts off his face as he leans down to place a kiss on Mark’s nose. “Yeah, it’s about you.”

 

“Affection. Disgusting,” jokes Mark, pretending to wipe off the kiss in faux disgust. Donghyuck lets out an offended scoff, then replaces the kiss, adding a few more kisses on Mark’s cheeks and forehead for good measure.

 

Donghyuck settles himself against Mark, wrapping himself around the older like a climber plant. Mark’s hand finds its way to Donghyuck’s tangled hazel locks. “You actually wrote a whole song about me,” Mark sing-songs, figuring it’s his turn to do some teasing of his own. “That’s so goddamn _cute._ ”

 

“I’ll break your arm if you call me cute again,” says Donghyuck sweetly, burrowing deeper into Mark’s side.

 

“A cute, fiery, clingy idiot who writes songs about me and breaks in through my window at one in the morning.” Mark pokes Donghyuck’s side a couple times until they’re both giggling. “Mayhaps I have a great potential boyfriend.”

 

“He sounds like an idiot,” says Donghyuck, and Mark can hear the rolling of his eyes in his voice. “But not as much of an idiot as his own boyfriend. The post-confession subtext here is that we _are_ boyfriends! And you have to throw in the word _potential_ for some reason? What a weirdo.”

 

“Says the one who can’t even come through the door like a normal human being,” shoots back Mark.

 

Donghyuck pulls his head from Mark’s neck to give him a greasy grin and a soft kiss dangerously close to his lips. “You’re going to have to get used to that happening a lot more often now. Kiss your sleep goodbye, Mark Lee, I know you’ll much prefer kissing me.”

 

Mark doesn’t really hate his ground floor bedroom that much anymore. Quite the opposite, in fact.

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday to one of my most loved sunshine boys <3  
> hyuck is a gift to the planet and if mark lee and i have one thing in common it is that we acknowledge that very fact  
> also i just realized this is my first nct work that i'm posting hdskjadhjas i hope it's alright  
> give my son and dnyl lots and lots and lots of love!
> 
> [tumblr](http://thiyatrack.tumblr.com/) // [twitter](https://twitter.com/thiyatrack) // [cc](https://curiouscat.me/thiyatrack)


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